Julbo Explorer (with Cameleon Lens)

Julbo seem to be on the end of everyone’s nose in those gnarly looking ads at the moment, but aside from looking the biz in amongst the neon, sun bursts and Chamonix glitz, how do they perform in reality? For me the chief draw with the cameleon lens was its ‘photochromatic’ abilities. These change from cat 2 to cat 4 depending on the brightness of your surroundings – meaning no need to pack separate pairs of driving and high mountain eye protectors. It works very well indeed, adjusting seamlessly and offering just the right amount of protection. The tint is brown which pulls detail out of the terrain, mist and fog clears fast (although not as fast as frameless specs), and while they don’t look as good on me as those model athletes, they do feel pretty stylish on! The lenses are large which covers most of the field of view, and there are small glare reducers on each arm, although the lenses are also polarised which helps in that regard. I have noticed the odd refraction at an angle to the sun, but otherwise the glasses enable clear and detailed vision, and offer 100% UV protection. DL

VERDICT: Stylish and intelligent eye protection that changes according to brightness.

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